An official website of the United States government.

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Plant Silybum marianum (Asteraceae)

Common Names
Milk Thistle; Lady's Thistle
How this plant is used
Generally Recognized as Safe
View the list of ubiquitous chemicals
List of plant chemicals.
Click on column headings to sort table by that column. *Unless otherwise noted all references are to (Duke, 1992)
Chemical Name Activity Count Plant Part Low Parts Per Million High Parts Per Million Standard Deviation Reference
(+)-TAXIFOLIN 0 Fruit not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
(-)-SILANDRIN 0 Fruit not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
1-2-EPOXY-TRIDEC-3-ENE-5-7-9-11-TETRAYNE 0 Root not available 0.2 not available Duke, 1992 *
2,3-DEHYDROSILYCHRISTIN 0 Plant not available not available not available J.S. Glasby Dict.Pls Containing 2ndary Metabolite. 1991.
2,3-DEHYDROSILYCHRISTIN 0 Seed not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
2,3-DEHYDROSILYMARIN 0 Plant not available not available not available J.S. Glasby Dict.Pls Containing 2ndary Metabolite. 1991.
2,3-DEHYDROSILYMARIN 0 Seed not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
3-DEOXYSILYCHRISTIN 1 Fruit not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
3-DEOXYSILYCHRISTIN 1 Plant not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
3-DEOXYSILYCHRISTIN 1 Seed not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
3-DEOXYSILYDIANIN 0 Seed not available not available not available Leung, A. Y. and Foster, S. 1995. Encyclopedia of Common Natural Ingredients 2nd Ed. John Wiley & Sons, New York. 649 pp.
4'-5-7-TRIHYDROXY-3'-5'-DIMETHOXY-FLAVANONE 0 Fruit not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
4'-5-7-TRIHYDROXY-3'-5'-DIMETHOXY-FLAVANONE 0 Seed not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
5,7-DIHYDROXYCHROMONE 4 Plant not available not available not available Jeffery B. Harborne and H. Baxter, eds. 1983. Phytochemical Dictionary. A Handbook of Bioactive Compounds from Plants. Taylor & Frost, London. 791 pp.
ALUMINUM 5 Leaf 59.0 267.0 -0.49 Duke, 1992 *
ALUMINUM 5 Plant not available 267.0 -0.23 Pedersen, M. 1987. Nutritional Herbology. Pederson Publishing. Bountiful, Utah. 377 pp.
APIGENIN 101 Fruit not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
APIGENIN 101 Seed not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
APIGENIN-7-O-BETA-D-(2''-O-ALPHA-L-RHAMNOSYL)-GALACTURONIDE 0 Flower not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
APIGENIN-7-O-BETA-D-GLUCURONIDE-6''-ETHYL-ESTER 0 Flower not available not available not available Duke, 1992 *
View the list of ubiquitous chemicals
List of plant activities.
Click on column headings to sort table by that column. *Unless otherwise noted all references are to (Duke, 1992)
Activity Chemical Count Reference
Hypoglycemic 6 Ivorra, M.D., Paya, M., and Villar, A. 1989. A Review of Natural Products and Plants as Potential Antidiabetic Drugs. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 27: 243-275, 1989.
Hypolipidemic 3 Duke, 1992 *
Hypotensive 10 Jeffery B. Harborne and H. Baxter, eds. 1983. Phytochemical Dictionary. A Handbook of Bioactive Compounds from Plants. Taylor & Frost, London. 791 pp.
ICAM-1-Inhibitor 3 Duke, 1992 *
IKK-Inhibitor 2 Duke, 1992 *
Immunomodulator 6 Economic & Medicinal Plant Research, 6: 189.
Immunostimulant 5 Pizzorno, J.E. and Murray, M.T. 1985. A Textbook of Natural Medicine. John Bastyr College Publications, Seattle, Washington (Looseleaf).
Immunosuppressant 1 Martindale's 29th
iNOS-Inhibitor 4 Duke, 1992 *
Inotropic 3 Duke, 1992 *
Insectifuge 3 Jacobson, M., Glossary of Plant-Derived Insect Deterrents, CRC Press, Inc., Boca Raton, FL, 213 p, 1990.
Insulinogenic 4 Duke, 1992 *
Interferon-Synergist 1 Duke, 1992 *
Interferonogenic 1 Pizzorno, J.E. and Murray, M.T. 1985. A Textbook of Natural Medicine. John Bastyr College Publications, Seattle, Washington (Looseleaf).
Interleukin-6-Inhibitor 1 Duke, 1992 *
Iodothyronine-Deiodinase-Inhibitor 2 Jeffery B. Harborne and H. Baxter, eds. 1983. Phytochemical Dictionary. A Handbook of Bioactive Compounds from Plants. Taylor & Frost, London. 791 pp.
Irritant 3 Bisset, N.G., ed. 1994. Herbal Drugs and Phytopharmaceuticals. CRC Press. Boca Raton, FL. 566 pp.
JNK-Inhibitor 1 Duke, 1992 *
Juvabional 2 Jeffery B. Harborne and H. Baxter, eds. 1983. Phytochemical Dictionary. A Handbook of Bioactive Compounds from Plants. Taylor & Frost, London. 791 pp.
Larvistat 1 Lydon, J. & Duke, S., The potential of pesticides from plants, pp. 1-41 in Craker, L. & Simon, J., eds, Herbs, Spices & Medicinal Plants: Recent Advances in Botany, Horticulture, & Pharmacology, v. 4, Oryx Press, Phoenix, 1989, 267pp.